I recently watched a re-run of the show called “The Practice”. In this episode a couple was placed on trial for murder because they refused to get medical attention for their sick three year old son. They were Christian-Scientists and chose to believe that their strongest chance of a cure rested in prayer for God to heal their son. The defense argued that the “Constitution” guaranteed religious freedom and the prosecution argued that the parents had a responsibility that they violated and were guilty of murder. To further complicate the issue, the accused mother was about to deliver another child which set up an additional argument as to the rights of the unborn fetus.

It occurred to me how important a belief system can be to a nation. Some citizens would say that an unborn fetus has no rights while others would oppose that point of view. How essential is it that we have a basis for what we believe? I’m not suggesting that we believe what we care to believe but rather that we need to support out belief by factual evidence that we can use as a foundation. I believe that our founding fathers had such a unified belief. In the “Declaration of Independence”, evidence of such belief was based upon their understanding that certain unalienable rights were given by our Creator. That is the right to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. Given the time in history of the writing I believe with certainty that their definition of happiness was far different than that which we as Americans have pursued over the past several decades. Their view encompassed the basics of life and existence, not so much lifestyle. Their standard of conduct was based upon a moral code which rested on nothing less than Biblical tenants. I think what they had in view was the goal of holiness, the only true path to happiness.

Today we find the leadership of our government and business sector in chaos. There seems to be little agreement on the way forward and I contend the reason for such chaos rests squarely on our lack of identity as a people and the failure of our society to maintain the beliefs that made this a great nation. The strength of what one believes can have a profound effect on the world around us. It is difficult for most of us to understand the commitment of the Kami-Kazi pilot from World War II or the dedication of a suicide bomber in a modern day terrorist attack. Both such actions were born from deep rooted belief systems. Unfortunately, too many of our leaders today have corrupted the values of our society and are driven only by the lust for power or money. These things are a poor substitute for the godly wisdom of character and integrity.

The questions that plague our society have real answers. However, they can only be found in the light of Biblical scripture, the same light that shone brightly on the founding documents of this great nation, written by men who used to adjourn and pray for hours to seek the face of Almighty God before determining their course of action. The Bible was the document most consulted over all other writings. Are we really more enlightened? Are we wiser in our own estimation than the fathers of our nation? For our liberal minded fellow citizens who object to the idea of our Biblical heritage I will concede that there was never a mandated national religion. Christianity cannot be mandated as it remains a personal decision for every human to accept Jesus as their Savior, solely reliant upon the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. Yet there can be no denial of the Biblical influence by which our founders and their writings relied upon for the birth of this nation. Further there can be no denial of the destruction brought about by the religion of liberal thinking to our way of life, our liberty and our pursuit of happiness. The proof exists all around us in the chaos that is now present. True followers of Jesus can have peace knowing that the sovereignty of God is still in tact. The “Good News” is still the “Good News”. For everyone else I suggest you read the world’s most important book before you dare reject it. It’s your only hope for living with assurance in the midst of these chaotic days.